Insomniatic
by FullmetalMeister00x
Summary: One night when Ino Yamanaka can't sleep, she ventures to the training fields where she run's into her one time rival, Sakura Haruno. Through a rough showdown, Sakura turns completely and Ino is left haunted. [STOPPED]
1. Can't Sleep

Insomniactic

Ino lye under her silk, warm sheets on her crescent-shaped bed as she tossed and turned recklessly. She sighed heavily many times, increasing her anger more and more each passing minute.

'_Ugh. I can't sleep,' _she thought to herself with irritation. The clock read 11:55PM.

Climbing out of her warmth, her bare feet touched the cool, wooden floor as she stood up to stretch and go for a comforting snack. Quieter than a mouse, Ino tip-toed down the set of creaking stairs and into the small, comfortable kitchen. Exploring the fridge, she picked out a precooked bowl of ramen and simply heated it to perfection. Grabbing one pair of chopsticks, she then headed back up into her sanctuary of a room.

'_Maybe ramen will calm and relax me, making me sleep,' _she thought positively to herself. She shoved the noodles into her mouth, slurped the broth, and sighed with satisfaction.

'_Ahh. I feel a little better now, but still not tired,' _she thought in disappointment once more. The bowl clanged accidentally against the tabletop of her nightstand, she cringed her face and "shh!"-ed the bowl to stop clanging. Once it did, she sat on her bed and lye down on her back on top of the sheets that were once warm, but now just room-temperature. While lying there, Ino dozed into deep thought, closing her eyes, as if she were trying to dream.

"Why can't I sleep?" she questioned. With one final toss, she faced her windowsill. She looked at it long and hard, studying it's characteristics. A thought crossed her mind,

'_Maybe I could tire myself by training a little bit!' _ she thought quickly. Soon enough, her clothes changed, her shoes were on, and she was already out in the alley way within a minute's time.

Ino sprinted to the training grounds and despite the fact she was there in record time, she was not alone.

"S…Sakura?" she questioned to the shadowed figure, sitting in the middle of the field.

"Oh, it's you, Ino-pig," Sakura responded sourly. Ino grinned.

"Billboard brow," she muttered under her breath.

"So what are you doing out so late? It's past midnight," Ino asked with curiosity.

"I could ask you the same question," Sakura replied with an attitude.

"What's with you, Sakura?!" Ino said rather loudly. Sakura turned to her and yelled with rage,

"And what are you gonna do about?!" Ino took a step back and examined Sakura as she stood up. Left shoe torn open, shirt sleeves cut and ripped, zipper broken, face all cut up and scratched, and one partial black eye.

"What happened to you, Sakura?!" Ino called to her in shock. Sakura clenched her semi bloody fists together.

"I've taught myself a good lesson. I have thought for sometime that I've made too many mistakes and I should have been hurt, not anyone else. This is my own revenge on myself," she spoke with a shake in her voice.

Ino looked at her in disappointment.

"Fight me, Ino. I must know that once, I can defeat a rival, an enemy, a bitch," Sakura called sternly.

Ino growled at her cockiness.

"If that's how you want it, bring it on, show me what your made of!" Ino demanded.

Sakura's frown turned into a grin, followed by a smile. Ino stood still, guarding herself from Sakura's first move; however, Sakura wasn't moving.

"C'mon, billboard brow!" Ino shouted. Sakura slumped forward and then stood her stance straight.

"Okay, you asked for it."

As her eyes showed determination, her strength showed weakness. Ino still stood her ground as Sakura suddenly picked up major speed. Ino jumped a little, shocked in a way. A slight breeze blew through her hair and against the back of her neck, making her skin crawl. She looked all directions, being aware of Sakura. Suddenly, Ino's head throbbed in many places. To the left, right, top, back, sides, her whole head throbbed with pain.

"Ugh!" She screamed in pain, dropping to her knees and clutching her head in the process. Sakura stood in front of where Ino draped over herself in pain, chuckling the slightest bit. Ino glanced at Sakura and took a big jump upwards, driving her fist into the bottom of Sakura's jaw. Sakura flew into the air away from Ino and crashed into the ground with a loud 'thump.' Ino sighed heavily to ease her aching head, which actually calmed her down and helped a little bit. Sakura climbed to her feet once more and wiped her bloody mouth with her beaten fist. She glared and Ino; Ino glared right back at her.

"What's the matter, Ino? Couldn't handle a little pain to your head?" Sakura taunted with a heavy breath.

Fury was building within Ino. She growled in anger while she ripped out a kunai and a shuriken, crossing them together, then releasing them. Sakura dodged them both, but just barely. She couldn't stand straight, her own damage to herself was sinking in.

"So now what are you gonna do?" Ino shouted, slightly angry. Sakura scoffed at her and disappeared. Ino looked around curiously.

'_She has to be somewhere around here,' _Ino thought to herself. As Sakura's hand touched Ino's shoulder, immediately Ino's reaction was to grab her wrist and throw her away from herself. Her reaction did take place; however, Sakura knew that was to happen. As she flew over her shoulder, Sakura grabbed Ino's long, blonde ponytail and pulled hard enough to send Ino flying with her. They both grunted as they hit the ground simultaneously. Ino sat up straight and curiously looked at Sakura as she lye on the ground, seeming to be blacking out. As Ino climbed to her feet, she soundlessly walked over to where Sakura lay, peaking down at her face in the process. Sakura's eyes flinched as the slightly opened. Her emotion-less face turned into a slight grinning smile and with one quick move of her arm, Sakura in a split second had her hand around Ino's throat. Ino coughed up a spit wad of blood from the previous blow, along with the current suffocation.

"Now what are you going to do?" Sakura sinisterly growled toward Ino. She squirmed for a kunai on her thigh and held it up to Sakura's throat as well.

"I could ask you the same," Ino came back at her, pressing the slightest bit of the kunai against Sakura's neck. They both trembled in each other's grasp and free will. With a heavy sigh of guilt, Sakura let go of Ino's neck. She dropped to the ground, along with her kunai that was once in her hand.

"Sakura, I can't take this," Ino began.

"This is just ridiculous, why are we fighting?" She questioned with her voice shaking.

Sakura stared at her blankly.

"I'm…not sure, Ino. But one thing is for sure, I want to win," Sakura stated, starting to move towards Ino slowly. Ino stood once more and turned to walk away; however, something was holding her back.

"Ino, don't run from what you can see," Sakura said in a low voice as she tugged on Ino's arm. Ino tried to pull away, but Sakura only tightened her grip.

"Tonight, not only am I going to win, but everyone else will," Sakura said to her as she pulled Ino so close she started to shake and tremble in nervousness. Right in Ino's face, Sakura announced the most star-stricken thing she's ever heard,

"I'm going to kill myself."

Ino's eyes widened so much it hurt when warm tears poured out of their crystallized blue pools of color.

"Sakura?! WHY?!" She shouted into Sakura's face; however, it was too late.

Sakura had taken the dropped kunai and placed into Ino's hand as she turned her around; therefore, pulling her close had caused the kunai to enter into Sakura's stomach area. She placed Ino's hand onto her own large forehead with the kunai pointing on the tip of her skin. Ino struggled and shook tremendously, but the kunai was stuck, like glue, on her hand. Sakura's grip tightened once more and she scanned Ino's facial expression, which her cheeks flooded with a shade of light pink and drenched in warm tears.

"I'm sorry, Ino."

With that said, Sakura commanded Ino's hand to drive the kunai into her forehead. Ino bawled and screamed as she felt Sakura's grip loosen and finally let go. 'Thump' went her body onto the ground, which under and all around her was a dark crimson pool of blood. Ino stared at the scene; she bursted into even more tears, screaming, throwing her head around, dropping to her knees helplessly.

"Sakura!" She screamed louder than a lion's roar. Her hands shook so much, she couldn't concentrate. As she felt them and examined them, Sakura's blood stained her tone of pale skin. She cried even harder and scratched the ground, ripping apart everything around her. With one finally scream, Ino crawled back behind a bush and slowly, so very slowly, and climbed to her feet without correct footing. She raced home, jumped into the shower, leaped right into her bed, and threw her sheets over her head.

'_Sakura…Haruno…my once and only true best friend…is…dead,' _she thought to herself boundlessly. With that in mind, Ino didn't sleep a wink as she read the clock ; 4:07AM.

By 6:00AM, her pillow was drenched in cooled tears. Her eyes dried and wide open, she stared at the ceiling for hours on and thought,

'_I killed Sakura Haruno.'_


	2. Eyes are Deceiving

**Chapter Two- Eyes are Deceiving.**

"Ino, time to get up!" called her father from outside her doorway. Ino sat up tired and wide-eyed, scrunching her semi-wet hair in one hand while throwing the warm sheets off of her body. She swung her scratched, pale legs over the side of her bed, reminding her of what had happened previous hours ago. With a deep sigh, she jumped to her feet, got dressed, put her hair up into its normal state, and slipped on her dirtied, navy blue shoes. Walking downstairs was the hardest thing she had to do in a while, specially when her mother noticed her legs and the bags under her eyes.

"Ino! What has happened to you?" Her mother questioned in concern. Ino stopped dead in her tracks as she narrowed her gaze on her mother.

"I fell last night," she whispered. Her mother gave her another questioning look.

"Doing what, may I ask?"

Ino looked at her another moment and said,

"Taking a little walk around town because I couldn't sleep."

"Oh. Just be careful dear," she said with an end to that.

"Do you want breakfast, Ino?" Her father asked persistently. Ino nodded her head,

"No, I'm not really all that hungry." With that, her father shrugged his shoulders and finished cooking for himself and his wife. Ino grabbed her bag and went out the door.

She leaned up against the wall outside her small home and clenched her fists together.

'_How am I going to make it through today? I mean, everyone will notice Sakura is gone,' _she thought to herself. Sliding to the ground, she buried her head into her crossed arms lying above her knees and let a group of warm tears slip from her eyes.

"…Ino?" called a familiar voice. Surprised and startled, she looked up to see someone who wouldn't notice her before; Sasuke. She bit the corner of her bottom lip and wiped away her few tears.

"Are you alright? I heard someone crying," he asked concerned. Ino's face turned a pale as the thought of last night crossed her mind.

"I'm…I'm fine, thanks." Sasuke walked over to her and took her hand, lifting her off the ground.

"Alright, if you say so," he said, walking away.

"Wait," he added.

"Have you seen Sakura this morning?"

Ino gritted her teeth together and whispered out a "no." Sasuke shrugged and continued to walk and added once again,

"Okay, see you in school then."

'_With Sakura gone, Sasuke wouldn't have to deal with her anymore,' _Ino thought to herself once more. She kicked the ground rather hard at that thought and realized what Sakura meant by "Everyone wins." Her foot throbbed in pain as she walked to school, pained physically and mentally. Stomach churning, Ino didn't know whether or not she should go to the academy or not. As she stood by the door, Shikamaru happened to pass her.

"Ino, what's wrong? You look terrible," he asked. Ino looked at him with a grin,

"I'm fine, Shikamaru. Just leave me alone," she said harshly. He backed up and walked away into the academy.

'_I think I'll skip today,' _Ino told herself. As she backed away, the sign of the academy read:

"Jonin Trainer's Academy."

With one final step, Ino turned and ran in the direction of the training fields. With her heart in her throat and her pulse as strong as a 6.0 earthquake, she peeked over a nearing bush and looked out onto the solid dirt. Sakura's body still lye there, dead.

'_Oh god.' _Ino thought sickly. She quivered silently as she then courageously approached the deceased body that was Sakura Haruno. The kunai was still freshly dug into her forehead, making all of the other wounds look like posers. Ino gagged a slight bit at the sight of what she had done.

"Sakura…I'm sorry!" She wailed out loud. The blood that once surround Sakura had now soaked into the soil she lay upon. Ino examined her once more, brushing off some dried blood while her tears washed Sakura's pale face.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. Ino jumped immediately and hid in a near by tree. Kakashi walked out onto the field, doing a daily patrol of Konohana.

'_Shit!'_ Ino thought angrily. _'He's going to find her.'_

Kakashi stopped where Sakura was placed. He looked at her suspiciously, pulling at some of her ripped clothing, analyzing her oozing cuts and dark bruises as well. Bravely, he tugged at the kunai and it slipped out of the wound in her forehead, making a quiet 'slurp' sound. Ino covered her mouth, trying not to scream or be sick. He looked closer at her, into the wound.

"Oh Sakura. Why would you do such a thing?" Ino heard him mutter to himself. She watched him closely as he wiped his visible eye with his large hand. Sakura's fragile body was then picked up by Kakashi and he walked off slowly into town to find a medical center. Ino slid from the tree and quietly followed him.

As they neared the medical center, Kakashi's stance as he walked began to shake. Again, his hand rose to his face to wipe away another tear as Ino watched from behind. He entered through the crystal clear doors of the medical center with Sakura in his arms, dangling lifeless. Ino tried to hold in her tears, but her eyes couldn't take the pressure. She crossed her arms on the wall outside the medical center and buried her face into her folded arms. Her tears poured out of her eyes, soaking her shaking feet.

"Why'd it have to end this way?" She asked herself quietly. With little courage, she stumbled over to the doorway and peaked inside. Kakashi stood there, talking to the nurse as they started to run Sakura onto a stretcher and into the next room. The door slid open as her weight was too much to just stand there on it alone, catching Kakashi and the nurse's attention.

"Can I help you, Miss?" She asked Ino quietly. Ino looked at her, face glimmering from tears. Kakashi stepped beside Ino and lend her a hand. She softly pushed it away as she asked,

"Was that…Sakura?" Kakashi's eyes dwelled with sadness as he responded,

"Yes, it was." Ino bit her lip as she slowly felt her eyes closing. Everything was going dark, black, and blurry all at once.

"Ino!" Kakashi called to her as she felt her own numb body hit the ice cold floor of the reception room.

'_Am I dying now too? From guilt? Depression? Sorrow?' _ Ino thought while she felt a hand touch hers, and soon after, everything was gone from sight; Her world was fading into a pit of pure insanity.


	3. Unforgettable

**Chapter Three- Unforgettable.**

_"Sakura…Sakura!" Ino screamed as her hand drove the unforgiving kunai knife into Sakura's large forehead, making Ino mortified._

"_Sakura, no!" she called once more. She threw her head around wildly as Sakura's grip loosened from Ino's wrist and the kunai knife was officially plunged into her forehead._

'_What have I done?!' Ino yelled in her head, screaming, weeping, breaking down._

"Sakura!" Ino screeched into the vast silence of the small, confined room as she gripped the cooled metal on each of her sides.

"What in the world…?" Ino asked herself. She was covered in white sheets, thin and warm. A metal bar surrounded her, making her feel trapped. She sat up slowly, painfully.

"Ino! We heard you scream, are you alright?" Kakashi asked quite frightened. A small face appeared in the doorway next to his and added quietly,

"Great to see you're alright, Ms. Yamanaka." Obviously, she was one of the medical center nurses.

"Where's Sakura?" Ino asked, her voice shaking. Kakashi looked at her in disgrace.

"Ino, Sakura's past on. She's…" his voice trailed off once he saw the look in Ino's crystallizing eyes.

"There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry."

Ino threw the covers off of her fragile body and jolted through the exit. Her vision became blurry and clear once more as she blinked away her tears, running away from the medical center.

'_How can they not save her?!' _Ino thought rather angrily. She continued to run faster and faster yet; her feet were racing faster than her heart beat. As she neared the ideal spot where Sakura had laid, bloody and dead, she tripped and face planted onto the blood soaked ground. Her fists pounded the soil into clots, dust flew from all around, shrouding her face in a small cloud of dust. Coughing, her eyes began to water, and once more, she wept over her lost friend, whom she had killed by Sakura's commands.

Soon enough, Ino was sprawled onto the dark stained ground, bawling, screaming, wailing.

Suddenly, a rustle in the bushes startled Ino's breakdown. She jumped by the sound, resulting in her curling into a tight ball. From what she could see, a pair of darkened blue ninja sandals that were partially covered by a black, draping trench coat of some sort stood beside her. The shadow rose tall above her, startling her senses, beginning to make her shake slightly.

"I presume you're Ino Yamanaka?" A familiar, yet deeply voice out spoke to her.

"Y...yes, why do you need to know?" she responded shakily. The figure kneeled down to her face and whispered,

"Need a hand?"

She used the back of her hand to sweep the tears and dirt off of her face while extending her hand to be helped. She climbed to her feet with the figure's strength pulling her up and she faced him.

"Who are you?" she questioned.

"I am who you need to remove this stain of guilt from your past; I am Itatchi Uchiha," he announced in his deepening voice. Ino's eyes widened and narrowed in on his face.

"Stain of guilt?" She questioned him once more.

"I've been watching you since the night of Sakura Haruno's demise," Itatchi chillingly spoke. Ino's frozen gaze was locked onto Itatchi; her mind played the memory of Sakura in her head once more.

"But…how?" She asked once more. Itatchi lowered his glowing, dark gaze upon Ino's innocent eyes and whispered,

"I heard you scream."

Ino mentally shattered within herself, regretting ever coming out to the fields, not being able to sleep, following Sakura's order, and coming to where she stood presently. She began to shake, quiver in fear of what Itatchi was planning.

"Ino, I can help you," Itatchi said with concern, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"You…can? How can you change what I've done?" She shakily once more questioned him.

"Join me on my journeys, you can be very useful after you've killed your best friend, or in this case, your worst foe. Help me obtain power, and yourself can become stronger than you could ever imagine," he explained, trying to convince her.

She went into a deep thought as she started to shake her head.

"No. I will not trust someone I just met and believe that by killing one of my closet friends it will make me become stronger. You're a liar," Ino blared out. Itatchi gave her a cold glance as he demanded,

"Ino, I am warning you, don't raise your voice with me."

Ino ignored his order and yelled,

"What are you gonna do if I do anyways?! I'm not going with you, end of story!"

Itatchi grinned and chuckled the slightest bit. Ino began to walk away from him, but ended up bumping into him.

'_How did he…?' _Ino thought in shock. He grabbed Ino by the shoulder, inching his was slowly to her neckline.

"You don't want to anger me," he demanded once more. Ino slapped his hand away.

"Leave me alone!" She growled, walking away from him once again. Suddenly, Ino felt weak, unstable, helpless.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" She called to him. He simply scoffed and said,

"I warned you."

Ino whimpered under her breath, feeling trapped and afraid. She attempted to sneak a shuriken from the pocket on her thigh, and she succeeded. Turning slightly, she saw Itatchi inching away from her, so she sent her strength into her limp arm and chucked the fatal shuriken. Itatchi was gone in a flash, evading the shuriken before it even released from Ino's hand.

"What?" She questioned aloud. He sped in front of her rather quickly and squeezed her arms tightly. She groaned in pain; however, she attempted to kick him. Rather surprised and hurt, Itatchi cringed and Ino slipped out of his grasp. Before she could start running, he jolted towards her and knocked her to the ground so hard, her skin ripped open on her knees. She squinted at him and moaned in agony, dropping to her side while calling out,

"Get away from me!" As he neared her, a breeze of wind slid across her face, and a shadow over lurked her form. The figure pounded a fist into Itatchi's face, making him flee out of sight. Ino shockingly gazed up to the shadow, examining her hero. A sudden thought came to mind; she whispered into the gust of wind that swiped her face once more, the name she'd always love,

"Sasuke."

His appearance became clear in the sun light and his usual grin was now painted into a loving smile.


	4. Wish Upon A Star

Chapter Four- Wish Upon A Star.

"That was close," Sasuke spoke aloud, thoughts spilling through his mind on what Itatchi could have been doing going after Ino.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Ino brushed her knees, feeling the warm blood swipe onto her cold hands.

"I should be, thanks," She said in reply.

Sasuke knelt down beside her carefully.

"Wow, you really fell hard," he whispered, examining her wounded knees. She gave a slight chuckle at her stupidity and Sasuke let out a small "humph" laugh.

"What were you doing out here, Sasuke?" Ino questioned.

"To tell you the truth, Kakashi-sensei told me about your condition and I rushed to find you."

Ino was surprised.

"Really?" She questioned with a confused look on her face. He nodded and with that asked,

"Do you know why Sakura killed herself?"

Ino's smile faded, her body froze, gaze lowered, and she tensed. Sasuke felt her sudden depression.

"Ino? Are you--" he tried to ask as she blurted to him angrily,

"I'm fine!"

He stared at her in the eyes and asked again.

"Are you alright?"

She couldn't stand lying to him. She had already, but couldn't once more.

"I…killed her." Sasuke's eyes glistened shock and awe, he collapsed to his side and simply clenched his fists.

"Not like that. She made me kill her, Sasuke. She wouldn't let me go! She made me drive that kunai into her forehead!" whispered Ino desperately. She began to let the normal streams of tears fall once again. Sasuke sat up, surprised.

"Ino, I didn't mean it like that," he said quietly.

She glanced towards him as he stood to his shaking feet. His hand extended in her direction and like a lightning strike, she took it. Her knees killed her physically, but Sasuke's utter depression was killing her emotionally.

"I'm really sorry, Sasuke. And why are you…shaking?" She asked curiously.

"Itatchi only came after you for power, you know that right? And I don't understand why he ran off so quickly, it's very suspicious to me," he answered briefly. Ino suddenly lost her balance and collapsed onto her side. She groaned as Sasuke came to her side once more.

"Ino, let me carry you, alright?" He asked politely. She nodded, holding back the her weakness in her eyes.

Clouds formed in the air and rain began to pour on the two as Sasuke walked with Ino in his arms towards the village. She cringed in slight pain and he looked upon her shattering expression. He stopped underneath a shady tree from the rain and placed her down. Movement had ceased, telling Sasuke that she was asleep.

'_At least she'll be at peace for a little while,'_ Sasuke thought to himself, sitting beside her. As she slept, she let out a quiet whimpering noise, her body twitching momentarily. He wrapped her in his arms, trying to calm her. She stirred and comfortably situated herself with Sasuke, lightly gripping his navy blue shirt. A smiled crawled across his face and he stared out into the long forest around them.

-[an hour later-

Shikamaru tip-toed along the path that Sasuke and Ino had been spotted, trying to spy and see what was actually going on with Ino.

'_I'm just hoping she's alright. She never used to yell at me if I didn't do anything wrong,' _he thought to himself hastily. As he thought, he spotted Ino with Sasuke. He ducked down into a near by bush and crawled underneath it, watching them closely.

"Sasuke…?" Ino questioned as she awoke. He stirred quickly and looked down at her to see that she was merely dreaming of him. He attempted to shake her a bit, trying not to startle her.

"Hmm…? Oh, hi." She said with embarrassment. She smiled,

"Thank you, Sasuke." She grabbed his hand with her icy hands, sending a chill down his spine.

"Ino, are you going to be okay?" He whispered to her. The rain began to pour through the tree they currently sat under, drenching them in innocent water.

"I hope so. Because really, I…" she was cut off. Sasuke stated,

"Because you now have to deal with witnessing a death of a loved one in front of your very eyes."

Ino was shocked and bit her bottom lip.

"Exactly," she stated. "There is always one thing that gets me through it though…," she whispered to herself. Sasuke looked at her in question.

"Sasuke, it's you. I mean, you're…the only reason I want to live anymore ever since…Sakura…and…," her voice trailed off into the rain's roar. She looked at Sasuke to find him saddened, yet confused.

"…What? You…only live anymore for me?" Sasuke questioned. She nodded sadly, as if she were just to about to cry.

The bushes rustled from the pouring rain. Shikamaru began to choke back on his emotions, clenching the ground beneath him.

"Sasuke…I…I think I…," but she choked on her own words. Luckily, he locked her in his arms and tightly hugged her.

Shikamaru growled to himself, scraping the ground harder with his gentle touch.

"Ino, don't be afraid. Just tell me," he demanded. She closed her eyes and a tear gathered with the rain drops pouring down on the scene,

"I love you, Sasuke." She spoke aloud. With that said, she leaned him towards his face, nearing his lips so slowly. He smoothly went along with the scene, and inched closer as well. He felt Ino's soft, tender lips meet with his, and they shared an innocent kiss.

Shikamaru felt a warm tear run down his cheek in utter jealousy.

A sound of a spring launched through the vast pounding rain.

A jolt had then stricken Sasuke; surprised, Ino looked up at him. She whispered his name, over and over again. He began to sigh heavily and became limp.

"Sasuke!" Ino cried as she witnessed the six kunai and shuriken driven into Sasuke's back, blood pouring onto her fragile hands.

Itatchi stepped out from nowhere, soaked, and chuckled mischievously.

Ino began to curse herself, screaming and screeching.

Shikamaru trembled at the sight of her insanity.

"I told you not to anger me, Ino. Sasuke is out of your hands now, so there's no where you can run," Itatchi spoke in monotone. Ino sprung to her feet with her weak balance and began to run.

"Not this time!" Itatchi growled as a wind-mill shuriken was launched into the air, on target with Ino.

Shikamaru burst from underneath that particular bush and shouted,

"Ino, look out behind you!"

As she turned back, she saw the demon shuriken on course for her.

'_This is it,'_ she thought.

"Ino!" Shikamaru shouted to her again as she fell to the ground, helpless. He swooned in front of her and put out his arms, protecting her.

A large, unforgiving slice pierced through the air.

"Sh…Shika…Shikamaru?" She questioned, gazing upon his obscene structure. He coughed to the side, spraying blood onto the soiled ground.

"Shikamaru, why'd you do that?!" Ino bawled out loud.

"Because…Ino…I love you," Shikamaru whispered, rain pelting his face and washing away his faithful tears. He fell to his side, the large shuriken implanted into his back clearly visible. Ino held his hand for a mid second, shaking it over and over again, calling to him, screaming,

"Shikamaru!"

Her eyes have never felt so much pressure before and she began to bawl and wither over Shikamaru's great save. Her eyes then targeted Itatchi.

"Think you can overpower me?" Itatchi questioned to her.

Ino growled and it grew loud into a roar.

"I'm going to kill you!" She screamed, huffing her anger.

With that, Ino pulled out every weapon she had on her and laid them into her hands. She climbed to her feet and her balance problem was nothing compared to present time. Her eyes had such hate in them, more than Sasuke could ever feel. Her muscles tensed and she stood strong.

"Take you're best shot!" Itatchi cried out.

Ino launched into the air, hidden from him. He turned and searched all around; he was not fit out for such mind games right now. A gust of wind passed by from behind, striking him in the mid-spine. He flinched only for a second, turning around to catch his opponent. Nothing was present in sight and he began to sense something was wrong.

Ino roared with anger as she kicked the large kunai deeper into Itatchi's back; his spine suddenly became severely in pain. She then stuck kunai in major pressure points lightly, threatening his life.

"Don't make me kill you," he uttered between his groans of pain.

"You don't have room to talk!" Ino yelled in his ear, pounding in the first pressure point and following the second.

"You know what? Sasuke said you were tough, and you're nothing. So I'm going to spare you the time and kill you now!" Ino indicated as she plowed in the rest of the pressure points with kunai knives. Itatchi's blood pour out from his numerous wounds and Ino fell to the ground. She inhaled furiously.

"…What have I done?" She questioned herself, sighing resentfully. The rain began to stop and Ino began to cry; she cried over what she had lost, what she had sacrificed, and what she had done.


	5. Sickness

**Chapter 5 - Sickness.**

"Ino, you're okay!" called her mother, wrapping her arms around Ino with relief. She gave her a light squeeze, easing backward to examine her face. "You are okay, right?" She asked, just in case.

Ino was confused, not knowing what had just happened. She rubbed her tired eyes, feeling their dry crust irritate her fragile skin.

"What happened to Sasuke? And how long have I been…asleep?" She asked her mother, worried as anything.

"Sasuke? Oh, you mean the boy who carried you home after you broke from the medical center? He was very sweet and offered to take care of you the whole night, but I guess he went home already," She answered. "Oh, and you've been asleep since you collapsed out on the training fields yesterday afternoon."

_'Yesterday?! Sasuke?!'_ Ino thought to herself, in a conundrum. Sitting up, she tried to swing her feet over the bed to walk, but her mother forced her to sit back down.

"Ino, you've only had 8 hours of rest!" She yelled. Ino shoved her away, "Mom, I'm fine." You could tell, she clearly wasn't fine, not in the least bit.

Ino got dressed, fixed herself with all the cuts, scrapes and bruises, and headed downstairs for the door. She left into the streets, a little woozy and off balance. Leaving her home, she walked toward the Jonin school and took her grand old time. Pushing open the metal doors to the school, she walked the halls as if it were a day like any other. Naruto walked by her, a frown on his face. His eyes were red and held heavy shades of purple underneath, clearly stating to anyone that's he's been in a horrible condition. Hinata watched him from afar down the hall, as usual, and worried. Shikamaru and Choji walked into her, and both cheered to see their teammate back in school.

"Ino, you're back!" Choji called. He outstretched his arms to hug her, but Ino punched him in his face, rejecting the warm hug. Shikamaru gave her a weird stare.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concerned. Ino turned to him, a cold stare meeting his eyes with hers. She turned and walked off, continuing her stride down the hall. As she turned, Ino overheard his whisper , "She's so troublesome."

Later on in class, Iruka sensei was taking attendance. As he called the names and looked around, he ran down the list, and began to hit "H."

"Hyuuga Hinata?" He asked. Hinata replied quietly, "Here!" The mood in the room went from a peppy cheer to utter depression when he asked, "Haruno Sakura?" The room was silent, and a few sobs were heard throughout the room. Naruto clenched his fists, Sasuke looked at the floor, and everyone else sighed heavily. Iruka had no idea what was going on, so he just marked her absent. After attendance was over, he began explaining the art of mastering difficult techniques. Dozing off, Ino gazed out the window, around the classroom, and at the ceiling numerous times. Glancing over to Sakura's seat, she saw something that surprised her enough to make her jump. Blinking once or twice, she looked over at the seat again; nothing there.

'Okay…it's just my mind playing tricks on me,' Ino thought to herself.

"Are you sure about that, Ino?" a crackled voice whispered. Ino felt shivers tingle her spine, sitting her up straighter than a board. Her muscles froze, her nerves shook, and a cold hand touched her shoulder. Looking back, she saw a pale, distorted, blood-soaked Sakura Haruno staring back at her. Ino screamed in terror as she saw Sakura roar maniacally with laughter. Ino bolted from her seat, rushing out the door. Dashing through the halls, she slipped and tripped over herself, desperately trying to get away from her inner nightmare. Sakura followed her quickly, still laughing at her. Ino reached the final hallway that led to the outside, sliding into a set of lockers to turn toward the doors as she spotted the end doorway. Bolting for the exit, Ino tried to open the door when she reached it, but slid straight into it as she found out the hard way that it was locked. Sakura came up behind her, turning her head sideways and looking Ino right in the eyes.

"Ino…look at what've you've done to me!" She whispered, her hand reaching to caress Ino's cheek.

"A way better job than I would have done!" She exclaimed, laughing again. Ino shook violently, and with a desperate attempt, shoved Sakura out of her way and tried to find another exit. Sakura grabbed her arm and flung her back into the doors, hurting Ino's back. Sakura's facial expression went from a lighthearted, evil laughter to a dark, menacing gleam of anger. Her eyes were dreary and dark, sending more terror through Ino's veins. Suddenly, Sakura gripped Ino's neck, closing her grip tighter and tighter, cutting Ino's oxygen completely off. She collapsed on the floor, screaming for help. She lay on the floor, bawling and trembling in fear as Sakura chuckled before kicking her in the face, leaving a heavy amount of blood pour from Ino's mouth.

Sasuke sprinted down the hallway, Naruto following close behind him with Shikamaru. Hearing a high pitch scream, the group followed it as fast as possible. Sasuke skid down the hall to find Ino curled into a small ball, screaming her lungs out. Sasuke and the others all darted toward her, trying to comfort and shake her from her insane mind.

"Ino! Ino! It's me, Sasuke!" He called to her, trying to regain her attention. Ino stopped screaming for a moment, opening her eyes to see Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru leaning over her. Blood dripped from the sides of her mouth, silencing her. Sasuke picked her up, kicked the locked doors open, and began to carry her home.

"I should have never left last night," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

Naruto smiled, knowing she was in good care, as he tugged on Shikamaru's sleeve to get back to class. Shikamaru didn't budge for a moment, feeling jealousy rise through him.

"Shikamaru, let's go," Naruto urged. He turned as his eyes squinted with anger, yet again letting Sasuke take care of the woman he longed for all along.

Back at Ino's house, Sasuke knocked on the door and her parents gladly let him in. He took her upstairs, back to her room, and laid her on the bed. He took of her shoes, setting them in her doorway, and cleaned off the bloody corners of her mouth. Ino was spaced out, still in a daze. She sighed before looking up at Sasuke, cleaning her up from her sudden emotional outburst.

"Sasuke?" She asked wearily. Sasuke smiled, relieved from knowing she's okay.

"I'm glad you're okay, Ino," he replied, moving a strand of hair from her face. Without warning, Sasuke kissed her forehead, surprising the both of them. Sasuke sprang up, blushing.

"Sorry, Ino. I'll just…stay here then, okay? Just tell me if you need anything," he said. "I'll be right by your side." Ino smiled at him, nodding a thank you before falling asleep.

She tossed over to her side, and back to the other before knowing that she couldn't get to sleep. When tossing back over, she felt something warm and soft next to her. She gasped, looking to see that it was Sasuke! He was sound asleep, curled up next to her and softly breathing. Ino looked at him, smiling with all her heart. She stroked his hair and kissed his forehead softly, making herself blush. Suddenly, a force shoved her off of the bed to the floor, but no sound of her thump was heard. A dark figure lurked over her, stepping on her abdomen. She gasped for breath as Sakura stared her in the eyes again, grinning an evil smile as she drove her foot harder into Ino's stomach. Sasuke stirred awake, seeing Ino lying on the ground.

"Ino!" He called, looking down at her. Confused, he looked around for her predator. Nothing.

"Don't you see her?!" Ino called, gasping for air. "She's stepping on me!"

Sasuke shoved the air above Ino, surprisingly hitting something that wasn't even there. Ino saw Sakura begin to cry, fading off into the depths of her mind. She was gone. Sasuke knelt down next to Ino and helped her back to the bed. Ino's feet drug against the floor, tripping Sasuke on their way back to safety and comfort. Ino fell onto the back backwards while Sasuke caught himself over top of her, both of them silent and blushing. Sasuke's blank stare turned into a loving gaze, capturing Ino's inner beauty.

"Sasuke?" She whispered breathlessly. "Yeah?"

Ino moved her hands onto Sasuke's back, one coming up to touch his cheek, smiling. Sasuke moved his hands to Ino's hips, one also extending to her cheek to brush another stray hair away.

"I…feel like I've gone completely insane," she whispered. "So…would you mind if I told you something insanely odd?" Sasuke nodded, awaiting her answer. Ino bit her lip, took in a deep sigh, and pulled Sasuke in for an innocent, sweet kiss. Once parted, Ino looked Sasuke straight in the eye, and through her rosy cheeks, she whispered, "I love you, Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke stared at her, silent. He brushed her cheek, a smile crossing his face. He leaned in again and gave her a little kiss, slow and sweet. He repeated after her, "I love you too, Ino Yamanaka."


End file.
